Soft, light, and spongy, my Japanese Steamed Cake (Mushi Pan) recipe is easy to make at home. Take my basic cake in a sweet or savory direction with my variations for chocolate or cheese-and-corn mushi pan. Enjoy them as a tasty breakfast or after-school snack.
These treats may look like muffins, but as you might have guessed – they’re not. We call these Steamed Cakes “Mushi-pan” (蒸しパン) in Japanese. The biggest difference between these cakes and muffins is that these delicious little treats are steamed instead of baked.
What is Steamed Cake (Mushi-pan)?
The Japanese cakes are made with very simple ingredients: flour (all-purpose flour or cake flour), baking powder, eggs, milk, sugar, and neutral-flavored oil (such as vegetable oil). While Chinese steamed bun called Mantou (饅頭) uses yeast as a leavening agent, Japanese steamed cakes use baking powder.
After WWII, when a massive amount of wheat flour was imported from the U.S., and the Japanese started to eat more bread. We call it “pan” (パン) in Japanese. Around the same time, steamed cakes started to appear in Japanese kitchens. As sugar was expensive back then, the Japanese included small chunks of Japanese sweet potatoes (Satsumaimo) to sweeten the steamed cakes. These Satsumaimo Steamed Cakes are still the most popular flavor today.
In the late 1980s, convenience stores in Japan started to sell Cheese Mushi-pan (チーズ蒸しパン) and Chocolate Mushi-pan (チョコ蒸しパン) that became really popular. I remember being addicted to the cheese version. The savory, cheesy flavor was really too hard to resist.
My homemade version is not the same as those Cheese ones. However, homemade steamed cakes are equally delicious and you can play around with various flavors. Unlike store-bought cakes, there are no preservatives and additives.
These healthy steamed cakes are soft and easy to digest, so they are perfect for small children!
3 Reasons To Make Mushi-Pan (Japanese Steamed Cakes)
1. Quick and easy to make
This recipe is so quick and easy to make! Even my children can make them as long as I help with the steaming. It only takes 20 minutes from start to finish. You can make them fresh whenever you want to eat them.
2. Versatile
The best part of steamed cakes is that they can be easily changed to either savory or sweet flavor. My Basic Steamed Cake recipe below is the standard where you can adapt to sweet or savory as you please.
For sweet steamed cakes, you can add vanilla extract. I didn’t add it so the recipe can be changed to a savory one. I recommend keeping the sugar for the savory version as a slight sweetness helps to enhance flavor.
3. Re-steam to make it fluffy
You can store it in the refrigerator or freezer for later and re-steam it when you want to eat for a quick snack. The steamed cakes will be soft and spongy again!
If you give my Mushi-Pan recipe a try, let me know. I’d love to hear about your variations and results in the comments!
Love Matcha (Green Tea)?
Check out my Green Tea Steamed Cake too!
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Steamed Cake
Ingredients
For the Basic Steamed Cake
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
For the Corn and Cheese Steamed Cake
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- ¼ cup frozen or canned corn
- ¼ cup shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
For the Double Chocolate Steamed Cake
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1½ Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
- 2 Tbsp chocolate chips
Instructions
- Fill a large frying pan with water about ½ inch (1.3 cm) deep. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to prevent condensation (very important). Cover the pan with the lid and slowly bring it to a boil. You can use a regular steamer, but the cooking time will be slightly longer. Please read how to store and reheat at the end of the recipe.
To Make the Basic Steamed Cake
- Gather all the ingredients. You will also need 4 6-oz ramekins and cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) and 1 tsp baking powder. Whisk well to combine (it‘s a shortcut for sifting).
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), 2 Tbsp milk, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 Tbsp neutral oil together until combined and the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- Put a cupcake liner in each glass ramekin and divide the batter into the cupcake liners.
- Place the glass ramekins in the boiling water and cook, covered, on the lowest heat for 8 minutes.
- They‘re done when a skewer inserted comes out clean. Turn off the heat. Remove the ramekins from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
To Make the Corn and Cheese Steamed Cake
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) and 1 tsp baking powder. Whisk well to combine (shortcut for sifting).
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), 2 Tbsp milk, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 Tbsp neutral oil together until combined and the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- Add ¼ cup frozen or canned corn and ¼ cup shredded cheese and mix until combined. Put a cupcake liner in each glass ramekin and divide the batter into the cupcake liners.
- Place the glass ramekins in the boiling water and cook, covered, on the lowest heat for 12–13 minutes. They‘re done when a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Turn off the heat. Remove the ramekins from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
To Make the Double Chocolate Steamed Cake
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour), 1 tsp baking powder, and 1½ Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder. Whisk well to combine (shortcut for sifting).
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), 3 Tbsp milk, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 2 Tbsp neutral oil together until combined and the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- Add 2 Tbsp chocolate chips and mix until combined. Put a cupcake liner in each glass ramekin and divide the batter into the cupcake liners.
- Place the glass ramekins in the boiling water and cook covered on the lowest heat for 8 minutes. They‘re done when a skewer inserted comes out clean. Turn off the heat and remove the ramekins from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
To Store and Reheat
- You can store the steamed cakes in an airtight container for 2–3 days or freeze them for up to 1 month. Reheat using one of two methods: 1) Cover with a damp paper towel and reheat in the microwave. Take care not to overheat it, as it will become very hard. For a frozen steamed cake, defrost before microwaving. 2) Steam using a frying pan, lid, and ramekin (as above) or a regular steamer to reheat the refrigerated or frozen cake until warm.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 4, 2011. The new images were added in April 2017. The post was edited and republished in May 2020.
Hi Nami, after I tried your green tea cake I tried your chocolate cake too. This time I put ganache in the middle. I noticed though that both my cakes were a little rubbery in texture. Is it supposed to be like this? How can I prevent it?
Hi Lulumummy! Ganache in the middle of chocolate steamed cakes sound so delicious! I’m not too sure why the cakes got rubbery. Did it happen to the one with ganache? Wish I could help, but it’s hard to tell as I wasn’t there…
This recipe looks great and it’s steamed ,easy for a beginner like me 😀 . I just found this great cooking site,I love japanese food and this site is a real complete. Thank you Mrs.Nami ^_^
Hi Ika! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy Japanese food and my blog is helpful. Hope you enjoy cooking Japanese food at home! 🙂
Hi, Nami,
I’ve made the mushi-pan 7 times now(green tea and chocolate). I noticed the last two times, I had big air pockets. Am I mixing the batter too much or too little? I also switched from King Arthur’s flour to Trader Joes. Would that make a difference? Or is it the steam heat? My sister said mushi-pan should have a very fine texture. Please let me know. Thanks.
Hi Helgee! 7 times! Thank you for using this recipe so many times. 🙂
If you look at my Green Tea Steamed Cake pictures, I have some air pockets too (https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/green-tea-steamed-cake/). I think this is due to how we mix the batter – we put too much air in it while whisking. One way to solve this issue is to drop the glass container (if you are using like me) on the counter top to release the air pockets from inside the batter. The bubble will come up on the surface. I don’t think it’s due to the brands of flour (I like both KA and TJ and use both). Heat should not matter too much, I think – but not 100% sure. Hope this helps…
Nami, I am so happy I found your site. I made the green tea steamed cakes 3 times already(the recipe is beyond cute-4 little ones) and I just made the cocoa ones this morning and used yogurt instead of milk. Easy and so delicious. I got raves already from my friends. I did for some reason have to steam them longer than 8 minutes. Also, my cakes don’t get hard. They stay fluffy for some reason, which makes me quite happy. Only, I can’t seem to find these recipes when I look in your desserts tab. I have to punch them up on an internet search. Where are they listed in your recipe index? Thanks again for posting them.
Hi Helgee! Welcome to my site, and I’m so glad you found it. 🙂 Isn’t it convenient and nice? Don’t worry about cooking time – each stove top, frying pan, cups… they are all different and those affect cooking time. So I’m glad you figured out what works for you. 🙂
I just checked, and it is under dessert, but I found out that the featured image was a frying pan with boiling water in it (step #2 image) and it wasn’t steamed cake image. Maybe you missed that entry because of that. I fixed it and should be okay. You can use my search box to get the recipe. This is how I search my recipe and I think it’s the fastest way to get to the recipe, instead of recipe index. Although you kind of need to know the recipe name (doesn’t have to be perfect match). Hope that helps. 🙂
Hi,
Can u conform which fruit will be used in Steam cake
Sudhakar
Hi Sudhakar! You can try and experiment fruits you like! 🙂
HI Nami.. I just made the chocolate steamed cake this morning using a steamer since i dont hv proper ramekins, and what happened was the cake expand to every direction.. Hahahahhaa.. it looks like massive mochi.. (-___-“) but the texture turned out to be so moist and they taste so delicious.. Cant wait to try the green tea one.. Thanks for sharing this recipe! 🙂
Hi Devie! Oh! Haha, massive mochi like? You can use a heat resistant container (like oven safe dish?) if you don’t have ramekins. 😀 Thank you so much for trying the recipe!
Hi Nami-San!
I tried making the steam cake with cake flour instead of all purpose flour. However it failed. Is it because I substituted all purpose flour with cake flour that’s why it failed??? Please advise me!! Thank you!!!
Hi Yyumi! I don’t think that’s the reason as some Steamed Cake uses cake flour. Could you explain a little bit more how they failed? Texture was not right? I’d like to help but need more info. 🙂
Hi Nami-San!
Thank you very much for your reply!
The steam cake puffed up when it was steaming in the pot. However, once I remove the cake from the pot, it starts shrinking. And the texture of the cake s hard and chewy.
I tried adding more baking powder, but to no avail.
Thank you!!!
Hi Yyumi! I see. I haven’t tried making steamed cake with cake flour, but I assume texture can be quite different from all-purpose flour. Not sure how you steam it, but maybe steam for less time? Might be overcooking the cake if it gets so hard. Hope that helps. 🙂
Hi if i put this in a microwavable pan instead of four separate cupcake liner, is it fine? is it the same cooking time? and in some steamed cake that i saw online, some are covered w/ aluminum foil, why is your not, what’s the difference? i never baked or steamed anything but i wanted to try. ive been reading steamed cake recipes for days now but i like your website because even if it doesn’t have video, it has a step by step picture. thanks.
Hi Sabel! To be honest with you, I haven’t tried other methods besides this, and I am not 100% sure if a microwaveable pan would work. I’m not sure the heat resistance to cook in the frying pan, etc. This steamed cake is my older post, and my newer steamed cake recipe has better step by step pictures, so you might want to see. I cover the lid on top to steam and the lid is wrapped with a towel so the condensation won’t drop to the steamed cakes.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/green-tea-steamed-cake/
Also, we just started to shoot videos, so check out my recent Castella video recipe. 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/castella/
If I were to add mashed purple sweet potatoes in the center directly before steaming, would I have to steam for a longer period of time?
Hi Constance! Since you already cooked and mashed the sweet potatoes, you don’t have to cook it through. I’d say you probably don’t need to cook that long. Check if it’s done with a skewer closer to center (but not the sweet potato area) to see how long you need to get the steamed cake cooked. Sounds delicious!!
hi, thanks for the recipe for steamed cakes. im not much of a baker, and iv got a “snacks around the world” cooking compertision coming up in a few days, and since i love japanese dishes i thought this would be perfect. thank you for the recipe, i found it realy easy to follow and hopefully it turns out great. i will try to test make it soon, incase it doesnt work out. but wish me luck all the same. all the best, and thanks again for the recipe.
from kira.
Hi Kira! Hope you enjoy (enjoyed) this recipe! It’s very easy to make so I hope you will like these steamed cake. There is another recipe in case you are interested:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/green-tea-steamed-cake/
Thanks so much for writing! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. It turned out beautifully and is so fast and easy to prepare. I used to buy this from a local Japanese bakery. But I have moved and it is too far away to go there. So am overjoyed to find this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Juna! Really happy to hear it turned out well. Thank you so much for trying this recipe. 🙂
Hello Nami, thank you very much for sharing your wonderful recipe. It was my very first attempt today & the steamed cakes turned out lovely. I didn’t put any sugar, instead I used natural sweetener. It was really nice, but I know most people would think my cakes needed sugar! 🙂
Just one thing, how can I stop any water going in the ramekins? My cupcakes got wet on the bottom & when I take then out, I see about 1cm of water inside.
Thanks you Nami!
Hi Michi! Yay! So happy to hear your steamed cake turned out well. 😀 I personally don’t like very sweet cake/cupcakes, so I understand! It can be a nice side dish to main meal too (without much sugar).
Water goes in? I think you probably put a little too much water in the pan. Depending on the shape of pan, ramekins, water amount should be adjusted. If you are done cooking, and there are so much water in the pan, you don’t need to put that much water in the beginning. It’s just for steaming, so next time cut down on water. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Nami san,
I really would like to try your recipe
But I have few things to ask.
Is it okay if I substitute the flour to self raising flour,
and only use the egg white?
Hi Cathy! I’ve seen some steamed cake recipes with egg white only so it should work fine! And yes, you can use self raising flour. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Thankyou for this recipe nami! I absolutely LOVE steamed buns and cakes but they are so hard to find here in australia! This recipe is so easy and fun to experiment with that I’ve already made four different kinds: chocolate, banana, green tea and corn. But I use my rice cooker to make them, the steaming tray holds four silicon cupcake moulds just right 🙂
Hi Noora! I love all of the version you have made! And cook in rice cooker sounds excellent! I think my rice cooker comes with steamer option too but I haven’t paid attention to that option yet. Thanks for the idea! I’m really happy that you liked the recipe and thank you for your feedback!
Hi Nami,
Thanks for the recipe! I just made it for my kids because my youngest wanted to eat cupcakes! I love it, it’s so easy and quick! I’ve made Chinese steamed cake before, but it’s more steps and required to take out my electric hand mixer, so I got lazy making it! lol…I want to try to make green tea steamed cake, do you have that recipe?
Hi Maggie! So happy to hear you liked this recipe. We do too! I’ll consider making green tea steamed cake and share next year. Thanks for your suggestion!